


Dragon of Music

by AuthorA97



Series: 52 Stories in 52 Weeks [18]
Category: Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Arguing, F/M, Family, Fire bitches, Hurt/Comfort, Lilac Travels alone by accident, OC is a dragon, Sad, Song fic, Spencer Saga, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorA97/pseuds/AuthorA97
Summary: Lilac's main passion is art. His is music. When the two collide, whole futures will change. Pt 19 in 52 Stories/52 Weeks.





	Dragon of Music

Lilac’s mom worked a lot. Sometimes this work took her all over the planet. If it was a fun place, she’d bring Lilac along. Of course this also included Lilac’s aunt, who was usually the one to show Lilac the city and her father was with her mother on business. The only one  _ left  _ to show her around was her aunt.

Because of her mother’s work she had seen Paris, Orlando, Egypt, San Diego, and China. The one city she hadn’t seen (on this Earth) was New York City.

Morgan was going to have a meeting there with a lot of the Traveler ambassadors from other countries she hadn’t met. The meetings would take a long time, nearly the whole day. Thorax would be in the meetings with her, as Prince Consort. 

Darcy was real excited to show Lilac the city. She had a plan all setup for their week long trip.

They were walking along Times Square. Darcy was showing Lilac a map of the city.

“So we’re going to visit this Spy-Escape Room. Myself, personally, think we can beat it in twenty minutes.” Darcy explained. Lilac smiled in delight. They moved to the crosswalk. “Then we’ll swing by the Disney store-”

A car honked at them.

“Suck a cock!” She shouted at the car.

“Auntie!” Lilac gasped.

Darcy scoffed. “What that? That’s how New Yorkers say hello.” Darcy explained. “You’ve been here before. You know this.”

Lilac blushed. She was still frowning, her cheeks heating up. “That doesn’t make it right!”

Her aunt scoffed again. 

Lilac knew she wasn’t like the rest of her family. She was a dragon, which was a huge signal. And grew up in a magical land, filled with magical creatures that sang of friendship and harmony. On Earth they were...Lilac didn’t want to say  _ cruel _ , more like they were less kind. The humans here weren’t as open with their emotions.

Her mother and aunt were two such people. Darcy, well she was always that way. Her mother was more sensitive, more hurt. She had learned from the cruelty of humans to shield off her emotions. She was always laughing though. The world had laughed at her, why not return the favor?

Lilac herself preferred to be kind. Her species-again, dragons- were known to be beasts. The world destroyers, hellbringers, princess takers. They were never known for kindness. So Lilac sought to be a better representation for her kind. The instinct to be kind came naturally. 

Morgan and Darcy  _ never  _ shamed Lilac for her kindness. They were always proud when she acted on her own two feet, instead of hiding behind the shadows.

“Come on, kid.” Darcy threw her arm over Lilac’s shoulder. “We can go to the Disney store first. It’s closer to us.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, Auntie. I’m nearly fifty.”

“You look nearly  _ twenty _ so shut it.” Darcy argued. “Plus I’m 101. You have so much to learn from me.”

Lilac groaned at the awful pun.

==DOM==

While Morgan and Thorax worked during the day, they made sure to keep their schedules free at night. They would spend time with their family  _ dammit! _

Morgan had an entire week in New York. She took her family to a Broadway show every night. Monday (first night), they saw  _ Wicked _ (“I told you, Darcy, there  _ is _ no  _ Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street _ on Broadway!” “You are literally the worst sister ever.”) _. _ Tuesday was  _ Dear Evan Hansen,  _ Wednesday night was  _ Mean Girls,  _ Thursday it was  _ Hamilton,  _ and Friday was  _ Anastasia. _ It was next to a play that as soon as Lilac saw it, she knew she had to see.

“Phantom?” Morgan repeated.

Lilac nodded. “Yes.”

“You wanna see  _ Phantom of the Opera _ ?” Morgan asked. Lilac nodded again. Morgan shrugged, turning to Thorax. “Alright. Let’s call Tracy and get tickets for Saturday.”

“We were gonna see  _ School of Rock _ on Saturday!” Darcy complained.

“ _ School of Rock _ was Sunday actually.” Thorax corrected. “Saturday was  _ Spongebob _ .” He pouted at Morgan.

She had no empathy to his plight. “Call Tracy. Change our tickets.”

Thorax groaned...and made the call.

The next night, Lilac was sitting in a box seat for  _ Phantom of the Opera.  _ She loved this play- or at least she loved the movie, the play was sure to be more magnificent. Lilac loved the theatre already, with its majestically painted walls and ceiling. The stage sets were something Lilac wanted to photograph so she could repaint it later, a perfect way of remembering this night forever.

She sat beside her mother, who was watching Lilac with a proud grin. That and the matching T-shirt’s they’d bought downstairs. Darcy was wearing her’s proudly. Thorax was happy to wear the mask.

“Okay, she made a good pick.” Thorax commented. He adjusted a rose on his front pocket. “This place is  _ awesome.” _

“Yeah.” Darby praised, sipping at a glass of wine. “They gave me this for free.”

“Wait what? I want free wine!” Thorax cheered.

As the two dashed off to the bar, Morgan laughed softly. She turned to Lilac, who was still staring at the theatre. “Lilac?”

“Huh?” Lilac turned to her mother, seeing the other two seats in their booth empty. “Oh. Where did Auntie and Dad go?”

“Drinks.” Morgan answered. “They’re weird. Are you excited?”

“So excited!” Lilac cheered. “I can’t wait to hear  _ ‘That’s All I Ask of You’! _ It’s my favorite!”

Morgan smiled, proud. “So it’s good? You think the others will enjoy?”

“Auntie will like Buquet, honestly. Dad might like Raoul. They’re both romantics.” Lilac explained. “You would love Madame Giry. She has a cane, but uses it to quiet the cast.”

“I like her already.” Morgan cheered.

“You would like the Phantom too.” Lilac admitted. “I just think it suits you more.”

Soon after, the play began.

It was when the light just went down that Morgan gasped.

Thorax turned to her in concert. “Morgan, what’s wrong?” Thorax whispered. Morgan’s entire face was scrunched up in pain. “Is the baby-”

“No.” Morgan replied through clenched teeth. “I don’t know. It’s like- like I’m trying to  _ leave  _ but I  _ can’t _ .”

Lilac suddenly squeaked softly. “Mom it’s the monkey-” She touched her mother’s arm.

The moment she did, Morgan’s eyes flashed gold.

Lilac’s too.

The dragon girl fell back into her chair, her expression like she’d fallen asleep standing up. Morgan and Thorax gawked at their daughter.

Darcy leaned forward, eyebrow raised. “...did what I think happened, just happened?” She asked.

The stunned parents nodded.

“She’s traveling alone.”

Darcy snorted. “Wow. Good thing we didn’t go to  _ Spongebob.” _

==DOM==

Lilac opened her eyes.

She looked around, finding herself somewhere different than what she left. It was daylight for one. The air was cleaner than New York air, and colder.

She herself was wearing different clothes- a ratty brown dress that looked no better than burlap. Her own hair was different. She could see the tips were a dark honey blonde.

Behind her, the wall she was leaning against turned out to be for an opera house.

Lilac gasped when she understood what had happened.

==DOM==

That was three months ago. 

Lilac had since done a lot. She earned a job at the Opera Populaire, painting backdrops. They had thrown out some paint that Lilac used to paint a dragon in a gilded cage, on the back wall of the theatre. Buquet had found her, reporting her to Madame Giry.

The Madame had seen the art. Buquet had used it to call Lilac a delinquent, that she should be brought to the authorities. Madame Giry had instead told Lilac they threw out the paint because their artist had quit, and the paint was wasting while they found a new one. Lilac accepted the offer.

It was a much small pay than the previous art, a stipend was taken out so that Lilac could live in the theatre with Buquet. She spent her feeble pay on food and new clothes. She slept in the catwalks above the stage. She would cry some nights, the tears echoing in the theatre. She missed her family. She had never traveled alone before. She didn’t enjoy the experience.

She had painted many backdrops since- with all the paint an artist could ask for. The theatre manager had told Lilac how he wanted the set to look, so all she had to do was sketch it out on the long canvas and paint it. Most of her day was spent painting the backdrops, getting lost in the brush strokes.

The only thing that could make it better was if her mother was here.

Today she was working on a backdrop for there latest production. Lilac didn’t bother learning the name for it, just how it was to look for the show. Which is when she started singing, for the first time in three months.

_ “I want a mom that’ll last forever.” _ Lilac sang on an upward brushstroke. _ “I want a mom that’ll make it all better. I want a mom to take my hand, make me feel like a holiday. A mom t9 tuck me in at night and chase the monsters away.” _

As she sang, she continued to paint the backdrop. The theatre was empty of the cast, or most of the stagehands. Lilac was virtually alone to sing as freely as she wanted. She was so absorbed in them that she failed to notice the figure watching from the shadows.

_ “I want a mom to read me stories and sing a lullaby, and if I have a bad dream, to hold me when I cry. Oh, I want a mom that will last forever. I want a mom to make it all better. I want a mom that will last forever, I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever.” _

She continued to sing this song, ignoring the tears it brought down her face. She focused on the painting to let her emotions out. 

The Phantom watched her from behind one of his hidden passageways. He had seen this woman running around his theatre, never hearing her sing before.

“It is her.” He decided. “She is perfect.”

He stayed until she finished singing, nearly hours later.

==DOM==

A few days past this, Lilac was awoken by the tap of a cane. 

She sat up to see Madame Giry staring down at her.

“Oh! Madame Giry, I’m sorry. I’ll move-”

“No.” Madame Giry cut off Lilac. She was thankful, saved from her own rambling mouth. “You are fine. There is a matter we must discuss.”

Lilac swallowed. She could imagine all the things she could discuss. All awful, and involving her art.

“You are being summoned to a private room for lessons.” Madame Giry explained.

“B-By whom?” Lilac asked, her chest growing cold.

Madame Giry didn’t answer. “No questions. Come.”

Lilac followed after Madame Giry.

Once in the private room, Madame Giry left Lilac alone. The room was empty, save for sparse furniture and Lilac herself. She couldn’t see any of her art, so she guessed nothing was wrong on that. 

She looked around the room. The longer she waited the more anxious she became.

It wasn’t more than two minutes before a voice spoke.

“Hello.”

Lilac jumped. She couldn’t see where the voice was coming from. She knew instantly who it was, though. “Hello?” She looked around for where the Phantom could be hiding. “Who are you?”

“Sing for me.” The Phantom ordered.

“No.” Lilac replied. “I’m not a toy you can make sing on command.” She stayed firm on this. She had been meek when a child, as an adult she reminded herself she was a  _ dragon _ . She would not be ordered about. “Who are you? Why am I here?”

The Phantom did not answer.

Lilac huffed. She made to walk did the door. 

“NO!” The Phantom roared.

Lilac paused. She waited to see what he would do next. The Phantom seemed to take her pause as submission.

He sang a note.

Lilac got the impression she was supposed to sing it too. She refused.

He sang another note.

Lilac  _ almost  _ sang again.

He sang a third note.

Lilac felt the note spill out of her.

Before long it turned to a full on aria.

She sang with the voice of the Phantom, letting their voices harmonize. She was saddened by how beautiful their voices sounded together. A most hauntingly beautiful chorus that echoed in the room where she stood.

They sang together for ages. Lilac would sing a note, occasional taking corrections from the Phantom. It wasn’t often she was corrected, instead making changes as she instinctively knew to change it.

At one point, Lilac stopped. She had forgotten to breathe between arias.

“Sing.” The Phantom prompted.

“Can’t...” Lilac gasped.

“Breathe in with your stomach.” The Phantom instructed. “It will make your notes more powerful.”

Lilac followed the instruction.

“No- your stomach. Try again.”

She did-getting it right that time. She sang a note after, and he was right. It was more powerful.

“You’ve done well. We will meet again tomorrow at the same time, in this same room.” The Phantom praised. “What is your name?”

“Lilac Melody Stardust.” Lilac answered after a pause to catch her breath. “Your name, Monsieur?”

The Phantom didn’t answer.

Lilac assumed he left. She made for the door, when she didn’t hear his voice she knew he was gone. 

==DOM==

“The angel of music!” Christine gasped.

Lilac wasn’t sure  _ how  _ she managed to befriend Christine and Meg. Sometime after she started working, she was painting a backdrop for the next show. The chorus girls were taking a breath between dances. They saw Lilac, and instantly decided she would be their friend. 

But like she still didn’t get  _ why  _ they were friends. Lilac was always painting, the girls were always dancing. There was no  _ time  _ for being friends.

Case in point, right now Meg was rehearsing with her mother. Christine had done well, so she had been allowed a break. She had Lilac where she had been yesterday, instead of painting. Lilac admitted she was being taught to sing by a stranger. 

Christine has gasped, assuming it was the Angel.

“Who?” Lilac asked.

“The angel of music!” Christine cheered in delight. “My father said when he died, he would send the Angel of Music to me! He must be the one teaching you!”

“But...your father was sending him to  _ you _ , why would he come to  _ me _ ?” Lilac asked, heinously confused on that.

“I don’t speak for the ways of Angels, Lilac.” Christine admitted. “You must be  _ very  _ good for the Angel to tutor you.”

Lilac shook her head. “I’m not. I mean, I’m not the  _ best _ . My voice is just-just not worthy of the opera.”

“That must be why he is teaching you!” Christine cheered. “So you can be worthy! Oh I bet you have the most beautiful voice...”

Lilac huffed. Christine wasn’t getting the  _ problem _ . “I don’t  _ want _ to sing!”

Christine gasped. “Why not?!”

“I want to  _ paint _ !” Lilac waved her arms to the backdrop she had painted last week, hanging behind them for their next show. “Not be his  _ soprano!” _

Except Christine was already swept up in the fantasy of Lilac as the star.

Lilac could see why the Phantom and Christine got along so well at the start. They both were delusional singers who thought everyone else loved musicals like they did.

Christine didn’t understand how natural painting was to Lilac. To Lilac, to paint was to live. She could bring the world through her eyes to the canvas.

==DOM==

This continued for three years. Lilac would paint backdrops, watch rehearsals, and practice singing with the Phantom.

People had noticed the things going wrong. They were hard to miss. Sets would fall in Carlotta’s songs, never on someone but most times it was a close call. Her costumes always needed mending from tears or moth bites. More than once, the lights had gone out for no other reason than Carlotta being on stage. 

Lilac heard most of the events from Christine and Meg. They-like everyone else- blamed the Phantom. Lilac did her best to ignore the rumor mills. Oh she knew the Phantom was doing it all to get rid of Carlotta, to make Lilac the true soprano of Opera Populaire. Lilac couldn’t care less. She just wanted to paint.

The Phantom didn’t want that for her. To him, she was an angel of music. He gave her a strict set of rules to follow- rules that she knew where for her and not others. A strict diet, strict sleeping schedule, rules that she couldn’t leave the theatre for any circumstances. Lilac wasn’t allowed to speak of him to anyone. After the Christine debacle, Lilac hated even hearing his name.

The first time Lilac tried to break the rules was the Sunday after her first Sunday after being tutored. She was trying to enjoy a Sunday like she used to- back when she was with her mother. The Phantom hadn’t taken too kindly to her departure- he’d set Madame Giry on her. Madame Giry- with her black hair and dark brown eyes- nearly made Lilac keel over out of motherly guilt. 

They were rehearsing  _ Hannibal _ . It was the only play Lilac had looked forward to, as the sooner it was done the sooner she could go home. She wanted nothing more than to return Home.

Everyday, she would go sing for the Phantom. More and more lately she sang about Home. Lilac sang her mother’s favorite  _ Broadway _ songs, her aunt’s favorite  _ Sweeney Todd _ ones, and just sang songs from her dad’s homeworld. Each time she wanted to cry like nobody’s business-least of all the Phantom’s. If she left from the lessons with tears in her eyes, she ignored any of his questions. Lilac wouldn’t want her _ fragrant displays of human emotion  _ to ruin the song, after all.

While the rehearsals went on, Lilac watched from the wings with Monsieur Reyer. He was diligent in his reading of the play, so he could correct the actors should they need correcting.

Lilac hated theatre life. She doesn’t know how Sweetie Belle put up with it.

She made sure to step aside when the seamstress floated by. The seamstress ran up to Carlotta, prepared to fix the train of her dress. Carlotta was complaining about it again. 

She looked over Monsieur Reyer’s shoulder, looking at the script with all it’s musical cues. Piangi was off on his pitch more than once, and Carlotta believed the entire stage was her own personal playground where she could move as she pleased despite the dancers choreographed dances taking place there.

Reyer interrupted the song. He marched up to Piangi to shout in his face. After a moment of this, Reyer was conceived Piangi had learned his lesson.

The theatre manager walked up behind Lilac, Andre and Firmin behind him.. She ducked behind Reyer as the three men walked past.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen. Rehearsals, as you can see, are under way, for a new production of Chalumeau’s  _ ‘Hannibal’ _ .” Monsieur Lefevre explained to the new managers.

“Monsieur Lefevre, I am rehearsing.” Reyer scolded them.

“Monsieur Reyer, Madame Giry, ladies and gentlemen, please, if I can have your attention, thank you.” Madame Giry tapped her cane on the floor. The entire theatre silenced, Lilac felt the condition response keep her mouth shut. “As you know, for some weeks there have been rumors of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true, and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire. Monsieur Richard Firmin and Monsieur Gilles Andre.”

The cast politely applauded. Lilac did as well.

“I’m sure you’ve read of their recent fortune amassed in the junk business.” Lefevre remarked.

“Scrap metal, actually.” Andre corrected.

Firmin spoke up. “And we are deeply honored to introduce our new patron the Vicomte de Chagny.”

The Vicomte waltzed past Lilac, not giving her a passing glance. The cast applauded. Lilac didn’t like him. He...he seemed to  _ sauve  _ for Lilac’s tastes.

Across the room, Lilac saw Christine whispering to Meg. Lilac almost-  _ almost- _ rolled her eyes. 

“My parents and I are honored to support all the arts, especially the world-renowned Opera Populaire.” The Vicomte announced to them. There was polite applause again.

“Gentlemen, may I introduce Signora Carlotta Guidicelli, our leading soprano for Five seasons now.” Lefevre guided the new managers to where the Prima Donna stood. Piangi cleared his throat. “Signor Ubaldo Piangi.”

The Vicomte reached a hand out to the actor. They shook hands- Piangi the more excited of the two. “An honour, Signor, I believe I’m keeping you for your rehearsal. I will be here this evening to share your great triumph.” He turned to the script master. “My apologies, monsieur.”

“Thank you, Monsieur Le Vicomte!” Monsieur Reyer replied. Lilac worried her lip under her teeth. “Once more, if you please, Signor.”

Lilac rolled her eyes while Carlotta fawned under the attention of the Vicomte to their theatre. She went over to check her backgrounds, to be sure they hadn’t be jostled or marked by the failed attempts to dancing. 

“We take a particular pride here in the excellence of our ballets, monsieur.” Madame Giry explained.

“I see why.” Monsieur Andre praised. “Especially the little blonde angel.”

“My  _ daughter _ , Meg Giry.” Madame Giry admitted, to a now flustered Monsieur Andre.

Lilac had to hide her smile. None of the actors noticed her hidden smile.

“And that exceptional beauty?” Monsieur Firmin asked Madame Giry. He pointed to the practicing Christine. “No relation I trust?”

“Christine Daaé, promising talent, Monsieur Firmin, very promising.” Madame Giry explained.

Lilac paused in her checkings. She stopped to watch Carlotta perform, running in her scene to avoid the seamstress chasing her. 

“Daaé, you say? N-n-no relation to the famous Swedish violinist?” Andre asked.

“His only child. Orphaned at seven when she came to live and train in the Ballet Dormitory.” Madame Giry explained.

Lilac worried her lip again. Something about her backdrop wasn’t perfect. She ran to the wings, grabbing the wet brush she left behind there for this purpose. She ignored the rising pitch of Carlotta’s voice, or of the other dancers. She focused on her art.

While Carlotta had her fit, Lilac saw to it that her paintings would be okay. She dashed to clear away her brushes. Paint was expensive these days, Lilac couldn’t afford to waste it. 

She came back to the stage in time for Carlotta to begin her solo.

Monsieur Reyer was nearly pulling out his hair. Lilac came up beside him, watching him rapidly turn the pages in his book. He tried to follow along with Carlotta’s song.

Lilac listened.

She found herself humming the song. Despite her dislike of this world, she still knew the songs of the play. She loved  _ this  _ music- that told a story you could see and feel like paint on canvas.

_ “Think of me, think of me.” _ She sang, thinking of her mother and father.  _ “When we’ve said goodbye. Remember me, once in a while. Please promise me you’ll try.” _

As she hummed, Monsieur Reyer was looking down at her. His eyes were opened in wonder, hearing Lilac sing. He had known that Lilac had been selected by Madame Giry as the understudy for Carlotta- with Monsieur Lefevre’s backing. Reyer was floored by her voice. Even in hummed notes. 

Same for the Phantom who watched from the catwalks. He could see Lilac’s face, recognizing it from their many lessons. She was becoming lost in the music. The Phantom has not seen a more beautiful sight than her blissful face.

A harsh note cut off the Phantom’s enjoyment. The Phantom looked out at the stage to see Carlotta singing loudly. 

The Phantom sneered at the soprano. He ran to the tied off backdrops.

Lilac’s thoughtful singing was cut off by a loud thud. Lilac gasped in horror. She had worked _ hard _ on that goddamn backdrop and the Phantom was messing it up!

She ran up to the backdrop, seeing other stagehands rush to assist her. She waved all of them away while checking over the paint. She had added some to the painting behind, and she was worried the paint had smudged. Behind her and the stagehands, the cast fretted about the Phantom.

“Signora, are you alright?” Monsieur Lefevre asked Carlotta. When the prima donna nodded, Lefevre turned on his rage. “BUQUET!”

Buquet pushed past Lilac. She let him without protest. He hadn’t touched the backdrop. One time Buquet  _ had _ messed up a backdrop, and after one meeting with Lilac he had a funny limp for three days. He never spoke of this to anyone. He also never touched a backdrop again.

So anyway he ran up at Lefevre’s call.

“For god’s sake, man! What’s going on up there!”

“Please, Monsieur, don’t look at me! As God’s my judge, I wasn’t at me post.” Buquet revealed. “Please Monsieur, there’s no one there! Or if there is...well then, it must be a ghost.” He laughed while the chorus girls shrieked.

Madame Giry tapped her cane.

Lilac locked up in silence.

“Signora, these things  _ do _ happen.” Andre begged.

“Si! These things  _ do _ happen! For the past  _ three years _ these things  _ ‘appen _ !” Carlotta ranted. “Well, until you stop these things happening,  _ this _ thing does not happen!”

Carlotta stormed off, ranting in Italian. Lilac paid no mind. She ignored the worrying managers and fretting chorus girls. 

“I have a message- from the Opera Ghost.” Madame Giry exclaimed. Lilac lowered the backdrop, careful not to crinkle it. “He welcomes you to his Opera House-”

“ _ His  _ opera house?”

“-and commands that you continue to leave Box 5 empty for his use. And reminds you his salary is due.” Madame Giry finished.

“His salary?!” Monsieur Firmin yelped. Lilac squeaked out a giggle.

“Well Monsieur Lefevre used to give him twenty thousand francs a month.”

_ “TWENTY THOUSAND?!” _

“Perhaps you could afford more?” Offered Madame Giry. “With the Vicomte as your patron?”

“Madame, I had hoped to make that announcement public tonight when the Vicomte was to join us for the gala. But obviously we shall now have to cancel, as it appears we have lost our star! A full house, Andre, we shall have to refund a full house!”

“Lilac Stardust could sing it, sir.” Meg offered.

“She can, sir!” Christine added too.

“Who?” Monsieur Firmin asked.

“Lilac!” Madame Giry prompted.

Lilac stood up, being mindful of the backdrop still in her hands.

“Present!” She put it down on the ground- finally letting the stagehands move to fix it. She ran up to center stage where the managers and Madame Giry stood. “Sorry- Sorry. Had to- had to check. The paintings are  _ okay _ !” She announced.

“This- this  _ street rat _ cannot take Signora Carlotta’s place!” Andre scoffed.

Lilac glanced up to the catwalks. She couldn’t see the Phantom- she knew he was listening though. She hoped he would stay calm after she was insulted.

“Who even is she?” Andre asked. “Who could possibly take the place of Signora Carlotta?”

“Her  _ name  _ is Lilac Stardust.” Madame Giry explained sharply, much to the shock of the managers. “She paints our backdrops.”

“A  _ painter _ !” Andre gawked, insulted at the implication. “You- How can a  _ stagehand  _ out sing Signora Carlotta? Hmm?!”

Madame Giry narrowed her eyes at the new managers. They bristled. “Let her sing for you, monsieur. She has been well taught.” She gave Lilac a reassuring look.

Lilac swallowed-heavily. She moved to where Carlotta always stood for ‘ _ Think of Me’ _ . Lilac went over the song in her head- wondering what she was going to do.

_ ‘Don’t think of them.’ _ Lilac heard her mother advise.  _ ‘Think of  _ me _ , my princess.’ _

She stood in center stage, and began to sing.

==DOM==

The next thing Lilac knew, she was being handed bouquets of flowers on Opening Night.

She ran off to the diva’s room after being cheered at literally everyone. Madame Giry must have seen that Lilac needed time alone. 

“Bravi, bravi, bravissimi.” The voice echoed in her room. Lilac smiled at the praise. She just wished her mother could be here to have see it.

“Lilac!”

“Lilac?”

Lilac huffed. Meg and Christine were at her dressing room door. “Co-”

The Phantom sang her name. Lilac paused at the sound of it. She’d never thought of her name as lyrical (it probably wasn’t). The Phantom was doing an impressive job.

She shook her head, shaking away the odd thought.

“Come in!” She called to her theatre friends.

The dancers opened the door. They had dressed down to white dresses. Lilac blushed when realizing she as still wearing her costume.

“Where in the world have you been hiding?” Meg asked. “Really, you were perfect. I only wish I knew your secret. Who is this new tutor?”

Lilac kept quiet.

Christine less so. “The Angel of Music!”

Lilac fought to keep quiet. 

“Father once spoke of an Angel. I used to dream he’d appear.” Christine explained. “Now as Lilac sings, I can sense him and I know he’s here.”

“Christine, you must have been dreaming.” Meg remarked. “Stories like this can’t come true. Christine, you’re talking in riddles and it’s not like you.” Meg turned to Lilac. “Who  _ is _ your tutor?”

“...who else could he be, if not what Christine says? The Opera Ghost?” Lilac tried and failed to seem nonchalant.

Meg and Christine laughed anyway. Lilac let out a reliever breath. They began singing after that. Lilac felt her voice wanting to join them- to sing of angels and music and dreams. She decided to change out of her costume instead.

By the time the girls left, Lilac had her costume hanging on the mannequin. She had dressed in a white dress.

She sighed, moving to recline on the lounge chair they had placed here for when it was Carlotta’s. She set to brush her hair free from the stage jewels adorning her short hair.

There was another knock on the door. Lilac huffed. She put on her nicest smile before opening the door to see the managers and the Vicomte.

“Monsieurs.” Lilac gave them a small curtsy. The men all praised her performance. Lilac laughed, to silence them. “Thank you all, but please. I would rather be alone right now.”

“Oh but Mademoiselle Stardust-” Andre began.

“Monsieurs, it appears the young lady wishes to be left  _ alone.” _ The Vicomte prompted them.

“Thank you, Raoul.” Lilac replied. The Vicomte looked at her in confusion. “Oh. My friend, Christine Daaé, she knows you. She has been singing your praises since she heard you were here. Said you called her...what was it... _ Little Lotte? _ ”

The Vicomte gasped. “Little Lotte? Oh it can’t be!” He made for the door, turning back to Lilac with a beaming smile. “Don’t fret, Mademoiselle, I will return to take you and Christine Daaé out to dinner. We shall celebrate your debut to the stage!”

“Oh I don’t-” Lilac shook her head. “Oh I don’t- no, no-no. I’m fine. I would rather sleep early tonight.”

The Vicomte and managers laughed. 

The Vicomte soon left. He had the determination of finding a lost love. The managers went with him, after leaving Lilac more flowers. The lilac kind, so it seemed. Andre and Firmin were not without their humors.

Lilac dropped their flowers in the garbage. She would set them on fire later, when she knew she wasn’t being watched by the Phantom. 

“That insolent boy!” The Phantom raged from behind his mirror. Lilac jumped. She was nearly 53, too old for these kind of scares. “This slave of fashion- basking in  _ your  _ glory! This brave young suitor sharing in  _ my  _ triumph!”

Lilac swallowed noisily. “ _ Phantom. I hear you speak, I listen. Stay by my side, guide me. Phantom, my soul was weak- forgive me. Enter at last, Master.” _

“Flattering child.” The Phantom chided from inside the walls. “You shall know. See why in the shadow I hide. Look at your face in the mirror. I am there inside!”

Lilac turned towards the mirror. The passageway was prying open to reveal the masked figure of the Phantom.

Something shifted in Lilac at the sight of him. Before, it was like she could write this all off as just playing. Not being anything serious while waiting to return Home. Seeing him there was life telling her that she had been writing checks, and they were being cashed.

He was so  _ real _ . Instead of a figure Lilac heard from the shadows, heard whispering at night, he was an honest real  _ person _ . She could see his face, mask and all. The mask covered the more grotesque parts of his face, Lilac saw the parts left behind weren’t... _ awful _ ...easy on the eyes, her aunt would say.

“ _ Phantom...” _ Lilac sang.  _ “Guide and Guardian, grant to me your glory. Phantom of Music, hide no longer. Come to me, strange ghost.” _

_ “I am your  _ Angel _ of Music.”  _ The Phantom sang. He laughed as though teasing Lilac about the nickname. She laughed with him, immediately drawn back in by his voice. He opened the mirror wider, space enough for Lilac to follow behind him.  _ “Come to the Angel of Music.” _

Lilac walked closer.

_ “I am your Angel of Music.”  _ The Phantom sang. He reached out his hand.

Lilac took it.

_ “Come to your Angel of Music.”  _ The Phantom instructed. 

Crossing behind the mirror, Lilac realized someone had been knocking on her door.

==DOM==

Lilac sang the title song as the Phantom lead her down to the basement. Lilac loved the twists and turns of the catacombs. To hear her voice echo back to her, the effect haunting.

They were soon on the boat, sailing to where the Phantom slept at night. Lilac let her fingers trace along the water.

The Phantom loved hearing her sing. “Sing, my Angel.” He encouraged her.

Lilac sang a higher note.

“Sing, my Angel of Music! Sing for  _ me _ ! Sing, my Angel, sing!”

Lilac continued to sing, despite this huge ball of emotions welling up inside of her. 

Once they landed, the Phantom guided her off. She made it only two steps before bursting out crying, falling into his arms.

The Phantom lowered them to the ground. His hands moved to brush her cheek, already wet with tears.

“I’m- I’m sorry.” Lilac sniffled. She wiped her free cheek, hiding her face from the Phantom in the pale candlelight of his home. “I don’t-I don’t know why I’m crying.”

His cheek brushed away an errant strand of her now blonde hair. “My Angel-”

“That’s it.” Lilac sniffled. She pulled away from him. He guided her back, cheek still in his hand. “That’s what it is. You’re no  _ Angel _ . My mother- she would send  _ a lot  _ of things to help me...the  _ last  _ being an Angel.” She sniffled, finding she actually liked the feel of his musician-rough hands on her skin. “Stay a Phantom.  _ My  _ Phantom.  _ Please. _ ”

“I can deny you nothing, my Lilac.” The Phantom spoke after a long pause. “Nothing on this world will stop me from seeing you smile once more.”

He kissed her forehead. Lilac welcomed it.

He took her hand off her cheek, holding the still warm hand despite the chill of his home. “I have brought you to the seat of sweet music’s throne!” He helped Lilac to her feet. He waved his arm out to his rather dismal home. “To this kingdom where all must pay homage to music! Music...”

Lilac looked around the candlelight home. She could see his bed, his beautiful piano, the tarp hidden wedding dress with a matching face mask. All of it, exposed to her eyes in real life. Lilac suddenly found it difficult to inhale.

“You have come here for one purpose and one alone.” The Phantom explained to her. He gently tilted Lilac’s head, so she faced him. He stared into her dark blue eyes, seeing how they reflected back every emotion she held inside. “Since the moment I first heard you sing. I have needed you with me to serve me, to sing for my music. My music...”

He looked over to his piano. Without another delay, he ran over to its side. Lilac inhaled sharply. She had momentarily forgotten how to breathe.

He ran his hand along his manuscript. Lilac exhaled. Realizing after how much it sounded like a bird’s song. 

_ “Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation.”  _ The Phantom’s deep voice dragged Lilac out from her inner shell. Dragged her from  _ herself _ , like she was Traveling only she wasn’t going anywhere.  _ “Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses.” _

He took a step away from his piano. Lilac began to sway, hearing the melody play inside her mind.

_ “Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.” _ The Phantom reached out his hand to her. Lilac moved her face to his. He placed the back of his hand on her cheek, softer than the breeze on a butterfly.  _ “Turn your face away from the garish light of day! Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light.” _ He moved her face back toward his. Lilac stared back with rapture. _ “And listen to the  _ music of the night. _ ” _

He turned his face away from her’s. Lilac had been a heartbeat away from reaching up to his cheek. The Phantom moved his hand over her face.

_ “Close you eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams.” _ The Phantom continued. Lilac could feel her body swaying in the power of the song. _ “Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before! Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar! And you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.” _

Lilac opened her eyes. She turned towards the Phantom’s voice, seeing him walk away from his piano. 

_ “Softly, deftly, music shall caress you. Hear it, _ feel _ it, secretly possess you.”  _ Lilac followed him towards the gate. He was fast enough to move away from Lilac each time she caught up to him. _ “Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know you cannot fight. The darkness of the music of the night.” _

Lilac had her hand on his cheek. Again, the chill of the underground had seeped into his skin. Lilac could feel her hand warming his skin. In a rush of panic she knew the Phantom might feel it too. Her skin usually felt overheated to humans (made it hard for her mother to find out if she was sick). Lilac turned away from the Phantom, moving back towards the piano.

_ “Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before!”  _ Lilac paused in her steps. She thought about her mother- about her family on Earth. They must miss her dearly...  _ “Let your soul take you where you long to be!” _ The Phantom’s arm wrapped around Lilac’s shoulder. His presence cold and unfeeling at her back. _ “Only then can you belong to me.” _

Lilac’s eyes were fluttering shut. She wanted to go home.

The Phantom didn’t notice. He was walking Lilac over the display covered tarp. Her eyes widened when she remembered what was there.

_ “Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation.” _ The Phantom hopped over to the tarp. He grasped it in his hands. “ _ Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the harmony which dreams alone can write.”  _ He moved it upwards, Lilac gasped- unnoticed in the swell of the music.  _ “The power of the music of the night.” _

He revealed the dress. It’s mask included.

Lilac’s eyes closed. She began to fall.

The Phantom dashed to her side, catching her before she could hit the floor. While staring down at her serene expression, the Phantom moved her towards the couch. She would need her sleep.

_ “You alone can make my song take flight.” _ He ran his hand along her face. She was oddly warm. Must’ve been all of the excitement of the night. It’s no surprise she had fainted.  _ “Help me make the music of the night.” _

The Phantom moved to his piano.

He was so wrapped up in his new music, he didn’t notice Lilac’s hand fading in and out of existence.

==DOM==

Lilac awoke to the clapping symbols of a monkey next to her head. She knew it was the song _ Masquerade. _ She hummed a few bars of it along with the primate. 

Which meant she was still trapped in _ Phantom of the Opera. _

She almost let out a sigh. Lilac sat up on the couch. The Phantom had been given her a sheet to keep her safe from the cold. Lilac appreciated it. 

Standing up to her feet, Lilac made sure to fold the sheet. She refused to leave a tattered blanket. It could fall on the floor and be ruined!

She searched for the Phantom. Even in the faint light of the candles, she could make out his figure at the piano. That was where there were the most candles.

Yes she knew this was a stupid idea.

That didn’t mean she was going to stop.

She was a Stardust. Risk-taking was her last name.

Lilac pulled off the mask.

The Phantom roared in rage. Lilac jumped back before he could swing at her. Of course by doing so she flung the mask across the room. 

“Damn you!” The Phantom raged. He covered the scars with his hand, raging towards Lilac while also blocking his face. “You lying little Pandora! You little demon!”

Lilac took offense to that last part.

The Phantom continued to vent. “Is that what you wanted to see? Curse you, you lying Delilah! You little viper!”

If he kept spitting out insults, Lilac would start to really take them personally. 

Okay that’s a lie. She’d already taken them personally. 

“Now you cannot ever be free!” He ranted. “Damn you!  _ Curse you!” _ He lunged for her again.

Lilac jumped back. She couldn’t look away from the scars. Not because she had been disgusted by them. Nor a morbid curiosity. This was wonder. She stared in  _ wonder _ .

She wondered about his life before here, thinking about the way he must have grown up. The humans calling him a monster, saying it so often you believed it. She wondered what his life would look like as a painting.

The Phantom was confused. Lilac wasn’t...pulling away from him? She was just...staring at him.

“ _ Stranger than you dreamt it? How can you even bear to look, or bear to think of me?” _ The Phantom asked. He moved away from Lilac. She merely tilted her head at him. “ _ This lonesome gargoyle who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven...secretly...secretly, but Lilac. Fear can turn to love, you’ll learn to see! To find the man behind the monster this...repulsive carcass who seems a beast but secretly dreams o beauty...secretly...secretly.” _

He fell to his knees.

“Oh Lilac.” He sobbed. His dreams were over now. She has seen his true face. There would be no hope for him now.

Lilac moved down on her knees. She cared not how it would dirtying her clothes.

She reached towards his face. He pulled away. Lilac did too.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Lilac promised in a soft voice. “I won’t.” She inched her hand towards his face.

The Phantom flinched back. Lilac froze her hand. She kept her expression calm. Her mother had always praised her kind nature, comparing it to Fluttershy more often than not. Lilac was going to use it.

And she knew sometimes, the best way of being kind was doing what the other person wanted.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She gave him back his mask. “It was rude of me.”

The Phantom accepted it.

“Come. The idiots who run my theatre will be missing you.” The Phantom took her hand.

==DOM==

Ages later, Lilac was playing the silent pageboy. 

When the theatre managers had told Lilac she was to play the silent pageboy, Lilac was ecstatic. Weeks without needing to say a word. Not being the star of the show? It was perfect. There was more time for her to paint.

She had adored the weeks of silence. She could have gone without Carlotta’s spiteful smiles and rants. The woman was sufferable, in Lilac’s opinion.

So the show was going on. Lilac gave her all to it.

**_“Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?!”_ **

Lilac jumped back, whole everyone around screamed. 

“He’s here. The Phantom of the Opera!” Meg gasped.

“It’s him.” Christine exhaled, in awe.

Lilac looked in the direction of the chandelier. “We’ve angered him.”

“Your part is  _ silent  _ you little toad!” Carlotta snarled.

As a reptile, Lilac was offended.

“A  _ toad _ , madam? Perhaps it is you who are the toad.” The Phantom’s voice echoed. 

Lilac squared back her shoulder where she stood beside the bed.

Carlotta began again with the show. Lilac ignored her. “Serafimo, away with this pretence! You cannot speak, but kiss me in my-” 

She croaked.

The audience loved it. Lilac stared up again in the direction of his voice, while the chandelier lights began to flicker.

“That poor fool, he makes me laugh. Hahaha-” She croaked again. She shrieked while the audience laughed.

“Behold! She sings to bring down the chandelier!” The Phantom taunted. 

The curtain fell.

Lilac waited for Carlotta to finish screaming. 

Meg and Christine ran up to her side, pulling her off the stage. Lilac stayed quiet and calm. 

As they prepared for the next act, Lilac looked up at the rafters. The managers had decided quickly that Lilac would take the place of Carlotta who would go on to play the silent pageboy. 

Lilac  _ hated _ it. 

She hated more that she watched the Phantom fighting Buquet- and she could do  _ nothing. _

Lilac tried to push away the stagehands and dressmaker. Instead they insisted she stay still. They had finished removing the stageboy costume, and were in the process of taking it from Carlotta. Lilac was stick standing around in a plain dress.

If she couldn’t save him, Lilac made herself watch him fall from the rafters.

While people cried out in fear, Lilac finally turned away. She ignored the tears on her cheeks. The shock made the people around her ignore her as she ran off.

==DOM==

Lilac stormed into her dressing room. She barred the door, so the only one who could come inside was  _ him _ . 

“Come out!” Lilac demanded. She raged at the walls, while not facing the mirror. “Phantom come out  _ now!” _

There was a long silence. For a moment Lilac thought he hadn’t followed her. Except he had to have. If he had noticed Lilac fleeing the stage, he would have followed her. 

“Phantom I demand you show your face!” Lilac shouted one more time.

She heard the door to the mirror click open. She made herself take a deep breath to calm down, keep herself from falling into hysterics.

“You killed him.” Lilac accused.

The door closed. The Phantom’s heavy steps  _ stomp-stomp _ ’d behind her. Lilac took more breaths to keep herself contained.

“You killed Buquet.”

“He had to go.” The Phantom excused.

“For what purpose?” Lilac turned to face him. She had no fear staring at his face, despite seeing what was beneath the mask. “For What cause? Was he harming someone else? Or just  _ you _ ? Killed him to protect  _ yourself _ .”

“To protect  _ you _ .” The Phantom argued, growling. “He was going to jeopardize what we have, my Lilac. He had to go.”

Just like that, Lilac’s hair thin control snapped. 

“No one dies in my name!” She screamed at him. She pushed at his chest, beating him in her panicked fury. “No one! Not one person! You don’t kill people for me! That’s not- That’s not what I-”

Lilac broke down. She burst into sobs, collapsing against the Phantom’s chest. He hugged her close to him. She tried to fight him off, he held her tight. It reminded her of the hugs from her father, Thorax’s arms holding her like the warmest fire. Lilac sobbed harder.

The Phantom continued their hug. He moved them over to the chaise lounge, resting on the side. Lilac broke out on louder sobs once they were sat.

“I know so little of you.” The Phantom admitted some moments later. He ran his hand down Lilac’s short hair. “You are a mystery to me, my Lilac. Tell me. Tell me your story. Tell me why my actions have hurt you so.”

Lilac sniffled, knowing she was making a mess of the Phantom’s robe. “Not much to tell.”

The Phantom ran a finger down her cheek. Lilac kept still as the finger ran along to her chin. “Every part of you is special to me. Tell me the story behind your tears.”

Lilac braced herself. She was still hiccuping on sobs every few words.

“When I was a girl, a man took me from my home.” Lilac recalled the awful time. The time she learned her mother was a human, when she learned not all humans could be trusted and that their world was dangerous. “My mother came after him. She killed him, and five innocent people to get me back.”

“Your mother should be praised for this, protecting you until you could come to me.” The Phantom remarked.

Lilac agreed. “My mother is the bravest woman I know.” She sniffled, wiping her nose again. “It does not mean I approve of murder. Five men died because of the mistakes of one. That is  _ not _ the way. Killing  _ any  _ for one’s own sake means  _ nothing _ .”

“She gave you her courage.” The Phantom tried to praise.

Lilac hiccuped a sob. She shook her head at the Phantom. No, her mother didn’t give Lilac any of her courage. She wasn’t even her daughter. Lilac was just an egg that Morgan found. Nothing special or courageous about that. Morgan took courage taking a dragon into her home, and letting Lilac call them family. Lilac? She was lucky she lasted so long before bursting in tears.

“I’m not courageous.” Lilac sobbed again, a new wave of tears. “I’m not! I’m- I’m  _ weak.  _ My mother would have stopped you from killing Buquet, I know she would have! What I am is  _ nothing.  _ I’m so weak my father abandoned me. That’s what’s in my blood! Weakness! Abandonment! Being weak like my father and worry that I wasn’t good enough for him and I won’t be good enough for  _ anybody else! _ ”

“No!” The Phantom silenced Lilac. He held Lilac tighter to him, curling his hand possessively around the back of her neck. Lilac sobbed harder against him. “My Lilac, you are the  _ epitome _ of perfection. You- you are everything I need. In my life, in my music.  _ You _ are everything.”

Lilac cried harder. The Phantom didn’t know what to do. If he had known killing the stagehand would do this to his muse, he would have reconsidered doing it onstage where she could see.

“My mother...I wish she was half as kind as the one you knew.” The Phantom revealed.

Lilac looked up at him, pulling away from the hug just far enough to see his masked face. “What was she like?” She asked, soft. 

The Phantom hesitated.

“I’m sorry.” Lilac moved to pull away. “That was rude-”

“No, My Lilac. Speaking of my childhood...it fills me with shame and anger.” The Phantom admitted. “I have always been with this face. My mother always resented me for this- I wondered often why she did not do away with me at birth.”

The Phantom turned away from Lilac. He pulled away from their hug, moving so that Lilac could not see even his masked face. “She tossed me out as a boy- when it became clear I would not outgrow my demonic nature. I was sent off to a circus with gypsies- they called me the Son of the Devil.”

“Mine did too.” Was all Lilac could get her mouth to say in response to that. “They didn’t- not a circus. Mom adopted me. My birth parents...they abandoned me.” Lilac explained. She was uncomfortable talking about her birth parents. “My mother found me, all alone. She raised me by herself. Well my aunt helped sometimes. It was mostly Mom though.”

The Phantom growled. He whirled to face “They were fools. I cannot see a single reason to be rid of you. If I saw your sires now, I would surely do away with them.”

Lilac’s mind conjured the image of the Phantom fighting against two full grown fire breathing dragons. Or worse fighting Morgan Stardust and Thorax of the Changelings. “No!” She begged. “No more talk of death! I will not have it! You speak of death and your death so easily, I fear what you will do.”

Because as awful as it was to be in his attention, Lilac didn’t want to think about this world without him.

“You care for me so?” The Phantom asked.

Lilac swallowed. “As I am yours, you are Mine. To hear you speak of putting yourself in harm’s way.” She began wringing her hands, looking anywhere but at him. “It worries me.”

The Phantom brushed back some of her hair behind her ear. Lilac supposed a human would have flinched at his cold fingers. She accepted the touch as a comfort, a balm to her wounded heart.

“You must go.” The Phantom stated, though by his tone he had wanted anything else. “They will be wondering where you are.” 

Lilac sniffled. She straightened her dress while the Phantom took her hand. He led her to the door, which Lilac unlocked.

When she turned back, the Phantom was gone.

==DOM==

Except, when she made it to the stage, they had put Christine Daaé in the place of the star.

Lilac grunted in aggregation. “Sugarplums!” She muttered. She ran to Monsieur Reyer’s side. “Monsieur, what’s going on?” She asked.

Reyer huffed. “The managers decided they would not cater to the ghost’s whims, not when it was clear that he was a madman. They gave the role to Miss Daaé.” 

“But they don’t understand-”

“Miss Stardust, I have already tried! As has Madame Giry! They will not listen.” Reyer explained tiredly. “More than that they have removed you from this show entirely. Signora Carlotta will still play The silent pageboy.”

Lilac sighed.

Not even a full moment passed before the chandelier fell on the stage.

==DOM==

Well Lilac was basically homeless, while they repaired the theatre. Hard to live in the rafters when there aren’t any rafters anymore.

She was explaining this to Christine and Meg, as she packed up her meager belongings.

“But where will you go?” Meg asked.

“Where will you stay?” Christine added.

Lilac shrugged. “Nowhere. On the streets? I’ve lived in worse.” She answered plainly.

The ballerines gasped.

Lilac sighed. “I don’t know what you want for me! I was homeless  _ before  _ the Opera, I’m homeless after.”

“Come stay in the ballet dorms!” Meg offered. While the amphitheatre had been ruined by the accident, the rest of the Opera stayed standing.

Christine gasped in delight. “Yes of course, Meg you’re a genius! Madame Giry would  _ never _ turn you away Lilac!”

Lilac watched the two of them, gawking. “I’m not a dancer. I’m barely an actress.”

“It won’t matter to Mother!” Meg argued brightly. “Or...it might. But that won’t matter this time!”

Lilac shook her head. “I won’t accept-”

“Well then write your family!” Christine suggested. “They will welcome you home, will they not?”

“A letter to my mother? I can’t-” Lilac paused. “You know what? Yes. I would love that. Do you have any paper? And some ink?”

“They live in Paris?” Meg cheered. 

“...no.” Lilac answered. “They live...far away.”

==DOM==

Morgan was holding onto Thorax’s arm. They had walked out of their box seats, instead hiding in the hallway behind. Darcy watched from the curtain, smirking as she sipped at her wine.

“Babe, babe I know you’re worried-” Thorax tried to assure her.

“Worried?! Worried was when I climbed down those stairs to get to the seats!” Morgan hissed. “Now I’m straight up  _ panicked.” _ She clenched her fingers again, eyes going distant as she thought about all the awful things her daughter must be going through right now.

“Morgan, you need to calm down.” Thorax reminded her. “Stress is bad for the baby-”

Morgan growled. She dug her fingers into her husband’s arm. Yeah they were about to take blood. 

Thorax hissed in pain. He turned to Darcy. “Darcy I need help!”

“No way.” Darcy sipped at the wine again. She looked over her shoulder to the show behind them. The show was going strong. Darcy kinda enjoyed it. “You said the stupid thing. You make the mess, you clean the mess.”

“Niece!” Morgan snapped in her sister’s direction.

“I will help clean this mes-what the fuck?” Darcy yelped. She bent down, picking a smoking piece of paper off the floor. “Uh...sis?”

Morgan and Thorax- both panting but for different reasons- turned to see the letter in Darcy’s hand. “Fire mail.” They realized.

Darcy opened it.

“Wha- that’s for me!” Morgan argued.

“Shut up, de-stress. Your daughter’s alive and well.” Darcy waved her hand Morgan’s direction. She read the letter. “Wherever she is, there’s not a lot of ink.”

She showed the letter to them. With it the few words written on it.

_ ‘Family I’m alive. Home soon.’ _

Morgan let out a relieved sort of laugh at that. She held Thorax- more in comfort than in pain.

Another letter fell from overhead.

_ ‘Tell Mom to stop worrying’ _

Darcy laughed so loud the people in the other box seats told them to shut up.

==DOM==

Lilac ended up moving into the ballet dorms. Apparently you  _ couldn’t  _ say no to Madame Giry when she insisted.

She was sitting by her bed when she felt something out of her throat.

She burped blue flames. She quickly covered her mouth, checking to make sure all the ballerinas were asleep. Lilac saw no one had seen her. She let out a reliever sighed.

She looked to her side, where a letter had fallen from the flames. Lilac grabbed it, quickly unwrapping it to check the words from her family.

_ ‘My Princess- _ ’

Those two words just alone made Lilac cry. She missed her mother’s endearments. It was perfect. She started the letter again.

_ ‘You have no idea how happy I am to hear from you! It’s been twenty minutes this side, but we all assumed it was  _ much  _ longer on your side. Just know your father and I love you and miss you, your aunt has noticed your absence but refuses to comment on emotions, and the baby was just being fussy.’ _

Lilac was silently sobbing now. She could picture her family writing this letter, curled up behind their box seats with Mom writing and Dad observing, and Auntie Killjoy watching the play because it had less emotions.

_ ‘Much love (and impatience) your parents _

_ PS- Come home soon. Your mother probably broke my hand.’ _

Lilac laughed. She closed the letter. She held the letter to her chest, sobbing silently.

==DOM==

Months later, it was time for the Masquerade. 

Lilac had written two more letters to her family since then. Yes it required stealing script pages from old shows, but really it was for the pursuit of family so Lilac thought it was a win for the Greater Good.

The masquerade had been a big talking point for the dancers at the Opera. Lilac didn’t see much the point of the dance- not the point that everyone else had, which was meet boys and enjoy the return on a new season to the Opera. Lilac enjoyed the fancy dress and the dancing. Boys were a secondary thing.

_ ‘Or’ _ , a part of Lilac’s mind that she  _ hoped _ would stay quiet spoke up _ ‘because the boy you like will already be there.’ _

She pushed that thought away.

See, Lilac had been doing a lot of thinking in recent months. Christine was telling everyone about her engagement to her old sweetheart. It was making Lilac...wish.

Which was  _ perfectly normal! _

When a woman announces she’s engaged, other women start thinking about their own weddings! It’s just natural! The way of things!

Or that’s what Lilac was telling herself.

Anything make sense of the... _ feelings _ .

Emotions.

Eww.

Lilac understood why her mother and aunt hated them so much. This thing was  _ awful. _

She didn’t like the Phantom. She didn’t. That would be...the worst. Like just the worst. 

It didn’t matter that when he called her ‘My Lilac’, the dragon instinct inside of her purred.

It didn’t matter that when he called her everything, called her precious, that Lilac heard it as her last thought before falling asleep every night.

It didn’t matter that when she heard whispers about the reviews of the previous season, hearing how while Lilac was great that Carlotta could have done better. The parts that had been  _ her’s _ because she had _ owned them _ and  _ made them  _ her’s better than  _ Carlotta  _ could ever  _ dream.  _ Lilac wanted to claw the eyes out of the managers.

Most of all, it didn’t matter because  _ she couldn’t be there for him. _

When this thing was done. When the play or movie or whatever she Traveled to ended, Lilac would go home. She couldn’t stay with the Phantom or choose him.

Lilac kept repeating it to herself, when she found her thoughts wandering to him with fondness.  _ ‘I’ll leave him someday.’ _

But then, she would her the arguments her family would no doubt give. Or agreements.

_ Better to love and lose, then never lose at all. _ Her father would say.

_ If you won’t let anyone else have him, he must be your kill _ . Her aunt would say.

_ You can’t change the story _ . Her mother would say.

_ It’s your story, do what you want. _ Her mother might also say.

Or maybe  _ If it makes you happy, Lilac, you deserve it. _

_ Hey. We’re Stardusts, kid, nobody can stop us when we want something. _

_ Follow your heart, I did. It got me your mom. _ Her dad would say, before her mother slapped his arm giggling.

Lilac...wanted.

Things were dangerous for dragons when they wanted something.

Something to  _ own _ .

Something to call  _ theirs _ .

Lilac herself had gone through it multiple times. Ironically it was all because someone had tried to take someone Lilac had claimed.

She pushed these thoughts from her head as the music began. Tonight was a night for music. 

Lilac was excited about how her costume came together. Her dress was dark purple, covered with black lace. When she spun the dress flared out. She loved it. Her ‘wings’ were black strips of cloth made to look like dragon wings via wire, and attached to her shoulders. She wore the mask of a dragon. It covered the top half of her face, and her nose. The mask itself was a dark purple and black, painted on purple scales and twirls of purple or black ribbon on the sides. Two black swirly horns were added to the top.

Lilac was proud of the outfit. Sure she didn’t necessarily love all of her dragon instincts, but that didn’t mean she was ashamed of what she was. 

When she arrived at the Masquerade, she saw the managers disguised as the Phantom. Pity they hadn’t noticed each other yet. Lilac watched from the shadows as the two steadily backed towards each other.

Her laugh was soft enough under their girlish shrieks.

“Monsieur Andre!”

“Monsieur Firmin!”

She walked away before she could be heard. The music started soon after. Lilac let herself sing loudly and happily. 

_ “Masquerade! Paper faces on parade.”  _ Lilac sang, joining the dancing crowd.  _ “Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you. Masquerade! Every face a different shade. Masquerade! Look around, there’s another mask behind you! Flash of mauve, splash of puce. Fool and king, ghoul and goose, green and black, queen and priest. Trace of rouge, face of beast, faces. Take your turn, take a ride. On the merry-go-round in an inhuman race! Eye of gold, true is false Who is who? Curl of lip, swirl of gown. Ace of hearts, face of clown, faces. Drink it in, drink it up till you’ve drowned! In the light, in the sound but who can name the face?” _

She saw Christine and Raoul appear. Lilac continued to enjoy the dance. This song and dance reminded her of Equestria, and the over the top dance numbers performed in the streets when the mood was right.

_ “Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds. Masquerade! Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you.”  _ Lilac danced with the music, closing her eyes. She let herself be lost to the rhythm.  _ “Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads. Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you! Masquerade! Seething shadows breathing lies. Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you! Masquerade! Leering satyrs, peering eyes. Masquerade! Run and hide, but a face will still pursue you!” _

Lilac lost herself to the music. She ignored the conversations of the fellow actors around her. She didn’t come for gossip. She came to  _ dance _ , to be  _ free _ . To let herself _ listen to the- _

_ The music of the night. _

The music continued to play. Lilac heard a differently melody. In her mind she saw the darkness of the catacombs. She felt a gloved hand against her cheek, holding it with all the care and devotion in the world. She heard his voice in her mind, heard his song that few in the Opera had been honored to hear.

Though she danced with the many men at the party, and though many were dressed as the Phantom, Lilac saw him at his piano in the catacombs. She heard the eerie echo from the water. She heard that monkey clapping.

Lilac was so lost to her own mind she almost missed the returning chorus.

_ “Masquerade! Paper faces on parade! _ ” Lilac let herself sing. To break her thoughts from him.  _ “Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you! Masquerade! Every face a different shade! Masquerade! Look around, there’s another mask behind you! Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads! Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds! Masquerade! Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you-” _

The music cut off at the arrival. Lilac winced beneath her mask.

She hadn’t heard from the Phantom since the chandelier fell. Since their sort of fight and heart-to-heart and...Lilac thought it funny that the night Christine lost her feelings for him were the night she instead gained them.

She wouldn’t dare sneak down the catacombs to see him, thinking herself unworthy of him (also her  _ emotions _ were making her _ stupid  _ just like Auntie always warned) (probably why she never told her family about them).

“Why so silent, good Messieurs?” The Phantom asked. His red costume was so outlandish and macabre, Lilac’s dragon purred again.

He descended the stairs. Lilac watched him. The dragon instead of her roared angrily at the sight of him. How  **dare** he hide? How  **dare** he hide away what belonged to  **her** ? Lilac had to stop herself from growling. It was a near thing.

“Did you think that I had left you for good?” The Phantom asked the managers, in their phantom costumes. “Have you missed me, good Messieurs?”

The crowd began to murmur in fear. A few whispers spoke of finding the police or guard. Her claws were fighting to come out. 

_ If you won’t let anyone else have him, he must be your kill _

“I have written you an opera.” The Phantom announced. He pulled out the thick manuscript book. “Here I bring the finished score.  _ Don Juan Triumphant _ !” He gave it to Monsieur Andre. “I advise you to comply. My instructions should be clear. Remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier.”

Then, as if knowing who she had been the whole night, the Phantom walked through the crowd to her. The crowd moved out of his way with no hesitation.

Lilac stood there, waiting for him to act.

He took off her mask with great care. 

Lilac stayed still, waiting to see what he did next. She gave him a small encouraging smile.

This appeared to be all he needed for a go ahead.

“Your chains are still mine!” The Phantom reminded her. “You will sing for  _ me _ !” 

He left with her mask.

As the crowd began to panic, screaming and crying out in fear, for the guards, for someone to stop him, Lilac only watched him go.

==DOM==

Lilac walked into the managers’ office. She was holding her own script. Whether or not there was paint on it was another issue. 

The managers were already arguing with Piangi and Carlotta. Raoul was a quiet figure on a back wall, Christine nowhere in sight. Lilac could care less about Carlotta’s opinion on **Lilac’s** role.

**Her** role.

The role that had been written, specifically for  **her** _. _

Lilac was overjoyed. She hadn’t been excited for any of the parts, now she suddenly wanted and needed this part like humans needed water.

“Ah! Here’s our little _ flower! _ ” Carlotta sneered at her.

Lilac just smiled. The kind of smile you have when you know the other person can’t say  _ anything _ .

The managers knew it too. They greeted Lilac with wide smiles, eager to please. “Ah Miss Stardust, quite the lady of the hour!” Monsieur Firmin greeted her.

Lilac smiled much more kindly at him.

“You have secured the largest role in this  _ ‘Don Juan’. _ ” Monsieur Andre told her.

“Lilac Stardust? She doesn’t have the voice!” Carlotta scoffed.

“Signora, please!” Monsieur Firmin begged Carlotta, with the voice of a man who didn’t want to die next.

“Then I take it you’re agreeing.” Raoul remarked to the managers.

“She’s behind this...” Carlotta muttered to herself. Lilac still heard it.

“It appears we have no choice.” Monsieur Andre 

“She’s the one behind this! Lilac Stardust!” Carlotta accused.

Lilac narrowed her eyes. “How  **dare** you?”

“I’m not a fool!”

“You evil woman! How **dare** you?” Lilac raged back.

“You think I’m blind?” Carlotta scoffed.

“I think your tone deaf!” Lilac wanted to say. It took everything she had not to say it.

Lilac glared, forcing herself to remain calm. “Signora Carlotta, I had no part in this plot of his!”

Carlotta screamed in fury. “You are a part of ‘his! You must be!”

“It does not matter.” Lilac argued. “For the Phantom has demanded I sing, so sing I must.”

The managers relaxed at that. At least  _ one _ thing was going as it was written.

Madame Giry walked in. She held up a paper. “Please, monsieur- another note.” Everyone in the room groaned. “ _ ‘Fondest greetings to you all! A few instructions just before rehearsal starts: Carlotta must be taught to act, not her normal trick of strutting ’round the stage. Our Don Juan must lose some weight- It’s not healthy in a man of Piangi’s age. And my managers must learn that their place is in an office, not the arts. As for Miss Lilac Stardust, no doubt she’ll do her best. It’s true her voice is good. She knows, though, should she wish to excel, she has much still to learn. If pride will let her return to me, her teacher, her teacher...Your obedient friend and Phantom’ _ .”

Lilac’s dragon purred at the  _ ‘your Phantom’. _

The Angel of Music was  _ Christine’s. _

The Phantom of the Opera was  **Lilac’s.**

“We have all been blind, and yet the answer is staring us in the face.” Raoul realized. He marched up to the managers. “This could be the chance to ensnare our clever friend.”

“We’re listening.” Monsieur Andre begged.

“Go on.” Monsieur Firmin pleaded.

“We shall play his game. Perform his work, but remember we hold the ace.” Raoul explained. “For, if Miss Stardust sings, he is certain to attend.”

“We make certain the doors are barred.” Monsieur Andre added in delight.

“We make certain our men are there.” Monsieur Firmin continued.

“We make certain they’re armed.”

“The curtain falls, his reign will end!” They all decreed.

Lilac’s claws begged to come out.

Her teeth sharpened behind her lips.

As the group descending into fighting, Lilac fought her own instincts. To claw apart the threats to what was  **her’s.**

After a rough minute she had her claws tucked away. 

Lilac slumped in her seat, considering this plan.

On one hand it was the end of the play, where Lilac would be allowed to go home.

On the other, there was good chance the Phantom would blame her for her part in all of this.

Unless she made it part of her own plot...

_ It’s your story, do what you want. _

Lilac stood to her feet. “Quiet!” She ordered. The arguing ceased. All eyes turned to Lilac.  _ “Twisted every way, what answer can I give?”  _ Lilac began, looking to each person as she sang. She paid special focus on Madame Giry.  _ “Am I to risk my life to win the chance to live? Can I betray the man who inspired my voice? Do I become his prey? Do I have any choice? He murders with a thought, this plan is well and good. I know I can’t refuse, and yet, I wish I could. Oh my, if I agree, what horrors wait for me in this, the Phantom’s opera?” _

The song ended. Lilac stood proudly.

“I will do it.”

_ ‘But not for any of you. _

_ For I am my mother’s daughter, _

_ And I am a dragon. _

_ I am not one easy to fool.’ _

==DOM==

They had just finished another insane rehearsal for  _ Don Juan.  _ Lilac could barely think of Piangi and Carlotta’s complaining.

She had walked to a nearby grove of trees. In her hands was the latest letter from her mother and father. It had showed up at the very end of practice.

Lilac was reading over the pained scribbles from her father- apparently Mom had started kicking him for the pen. Mom was worried for her, because apparently they were still watching Act 1 of _ Phantom _ and she was having near panic attacks after every scene. Her aunt had wanted her to know the play was fantastic, Lilac should be happy that hadn’t gone to Spongebob like her dad had wanted.

That made Lilac laugh. It was a good point.

The sun had set while Lilac looked for the perfect place to read. To mourn her family she’d had seen in an age. To an immortal creature of magic, these years had been a blink. To a child missing her family this was a lifetime.

Lilac held up the letter. 

_ “You are my three companions.” _ She brushed her fingers along the paper, remembering it from one of her mother’s notebooks.  _ “You three are all that matter. You proudly named me Lilac, and daughter, then my world was shattered.”  _ She held the letter to her chest as tears came to her eyes.  _ “Wishing you were somehow here again, wishing you were somehow near. Sometimes it seemed, if I just dream, somehow you would be here. _ ”

Her mother would have a clever plan by now, of how to stop the awful fight.

Her father would have found a way to keep Lilac and the Phantom both safe.

Her aunt would take down any threats as the plan was carried out.

_ “Wishing I could hear your voice again.” _

_ ‘Okay but why not _ Heathers _?’ _

_ ‘You want to take your niece to a show where high schoolers murder each other? Did you forget your niece is still in high school?’ _

_ ‘Lilac, please never let you and Cookie end up like this.’ _

_ ‘Haha. Good luck with that dream, Dad.’ _

_ ‘Ugh, may the hive spare me.’ _

_ “Knowing that I’m worlds away, dreaming of you won’t help me to do all that you dreamed I could.” _ Lilac looked in the direction on the Opera house.  _ “Words on pages and half-hearted apologies, cold and so unfeeling. Seems to me the wrong expressions. You are all so fierce and strong...too many years, fighting back tears. Why can’t the past just die?” _

Lilac sniffled. She curled her knees up to her chest. Only once her face was obscured did she let her grief show plainly.

_ “Wishing you were somehow here again. Knowing we must say goodbye, try to forgive, teach me to live. Give me the strength to try.” _ Lilac prayed, between quiet hiccuping sobs. _ “No more memories, no more silent tears, no more gazing across the wasted years. Help me say goodbye, help me say goodbye.” _

The letter crunched in Lilac’s palm.

Quickly, she uncurled. She stood to her feet, smoothing out the page to keep out every crease. With no access to her family beyond it, Lilac needed it all pristine.

She was so nervous about the paper that when the Phantom’s voice spoke up, Lilac jumped.

_ “Wandering child, so lost, so helpless, yearning for my guidance.” _

Lilac tried to find him- in this small forest grove. There was a thick fog in the clearing now, as night had fallen. She realized she could see the tops of monuments over the fog. The ones from the graveyard.  _ “Phantom, or Angel? Mine, or theirs? Who is it there, staring?” _

_ “Have you forgotten Your Phantom?”  _ The Phantom replied.

She let out a sigh of relief, her back pressing against the tree.  _ “Phantom, oh, speak. What endless longings echo in this whisper?” _

_ “Too long you’ve wandered in winter.” _ The Phantom instructed. Lilac shivered at the mention of snow. You may think she was safe from snow as a dragon, but no. She was a dragon, not a god.  _ “Far from my far-reaching gaze.” _

_ “Wildly, my mind beats against you.” _ Lilac assured. She focused her sight more keenly. She could make out a figure- or at least the shape of one.

_ “You resist-” _ The Phantom began.

_ “Yet the soul obeys.” _ Lilac finished. Yet again she knew she was being drawn in by the song.  _ “Phantom of the Opera-” _

_ “You denied me-” _

_ “I denied you-” _

_ “Turning from true beauty. Phantom of the Opera!” _

_ “Do not shun me-” _

_ “My protector-” _

_ “Come to your strange Phantom!” _ Lilac blinked, the song fading from her lips. She stared at what she guessed was the Phantom.  _ “I am your Phantom of the Opera!” _ He had his hand stretched out. “ _ Come to me: Phantom of the Opera.” _

Lilac took a step.

_ “I am your Phantom of the Opera.” _

She took more steps.

_ “Come to me: Phantom of the Opera.” _

She took his hand, holding tightly to her letter in the other.

The Phantom grinned, from the side of the face that Lilac could see.

They vanished into the night.

==DOM==

She was having another music lesson.

Typical.

The Phantom was explaining it all to her, all that she had missed on by being in the ballet house and missing their lessons.

Lilac wouldn’t hear one more word. Not now.

“They plan to stop you.” Lilac spoke over him. The Phantom paused. He turned to stare at Lilac, surprised at her audacity to speak over him before her words processed. “They plan to trap you in Box Five on the premiere. They’ll have guardsmen posted everywhere. To them, that’s the night your reign will end.” She explained rapidly.

The Phantom stared in Lilac. His face blank. Lilac knew better than accept it. If she waited a moment he was sure to erupt at her.

“I only said yes to them so I could stop it.” She added. She knew she should feel guilt for betraying them but that would imply she should feel bad for protecting the Phantom and standing for what she believed in. The humans were betraying one of their own, this was on them. “They said that if I sang you were sure to attend. It’s the only reason Carlotta hasn’t complained, getting rid of you gets rid of me.”

The Phantom growled at that. He walked up to Lilac, cupping the side of her face in his hand. Lilac raised a hand in turn, she held the left side of his face.

“They will not be rid of you.” The Phantom promised. “Or of  _ me _ .”

“I know that- but  _ listen _ .” Lilac began. She took her other hand, holding the Phantom’s shoulder. “I **know** you can stop them.”

The Phantom grinned. “Of course I can. That  _ monsieur _ , I would like to see him _ try _ to outsmart _ me _ .”

“Outsmart him you will.” Lilac replied, realizing only after that she spoke in Yoda. “Because you are  **Mine** .”

The Phantom moved his hand from her face to her neck. He cupped neck, the fingertips pressing into her skin possessively. Lilac held tighter to his shoulder, while her other hand threaded itself in his hair.

“They won’t get rid of you.” Lilac swore, growling. Her blue eyes glaring into his dark haunting orbs.

_ We’re Stardusts, kid, nobody can stop us when we want something. _

==DOM==

It was showtime.

After much rehearsals that left Lilac wanting to pull out her now dirty blonde hair, it was showtime. 

(Seriously Lilac missed having blue hair)

By the end of the night this would all be over.

She would go home...

...right?

Except that...well the play started with them at the auction, so would Lilac go home tonight or after the auction?

Lilac’s eyes widened as the idea came to her. Holy shit!? What in Celestia’s name was she supposed to do now!?

Monsieur Reyer came to her side. “Miss Stardust, your cue!”

“I hear it.” She hissed at him. How she kept from going serpentine, she had no idea.

“No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy!” Lilac sang from the sides. “No dreams within her heart but dreams of love!”

She heard the confusion of the actor onstage. Lilac also the Phantom hiss a command.

Once the man left Lilac leapt on stage. She sat on the bench, waiting for the Phantom.

She had to rely on the audience’s line of sight to know where he was. 

“ _ You _ -” Lilac jumped, as her character was supposed to do. She turned to face him. His masked face was covered up by the costume.  _ “-have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent, silent.” _ He moved closer to her. “ _ I have brought you that our passions may fuse and merge.” _

Lilac let herself be swept up in the scene.

_ “In your mind, you’ve already succumbed to me.” _ The Phantom almost boasted.  _ “Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me. No second thoughts, you’ve decided, decided.” _

Yes. Yes she had.

_ But was it to go home? _

_ Or to stay? _

_ Betray him? _

_ Or help? _

_ “Past the point of no return, no backward glances. The games we’ve played till now are at an end past all thought of if or when. No use resisting, abandon thought and let the dream descend.” _ The Phantom promised. Lilac relaxed as he held her in his arms. Because she was used to Piangi holding her in the rehearsals.  _ “What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us past the point of no return? The final threshold? What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn beyond the point of no return?” _

_ “You have brought me to that moment where words run dry, to that moment where speech disappears into silence, silence.” _ Lilac sang, lost in the song. _ “I have come here hardly knowing the reason why. In my mind I’ve already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent, and now I am here with you, no second thoughts. I’ve decided, decided. Past the point of no return, no going back now. Our passion play has now at last begun past all thought of right or wrong. One final question: how long should we two wait before we’re one? When will the blood begin to race The sleeping bud bursts into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?” _

Their voices merged. It was...Lilac had no words. She was too focused on the song to focus on things like her own troubles. She was broken from that thought from a noise behind her.

_ “Past the point of no return. The final threshold. The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. We’ve passed the point of no return!” _

Lilac stared behind them. The police- they were looking behind the curtain where Piangi was.

_ “Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude.”  _ The Phantom took a ring off of his finger. When he took of his glove, there was no telling or remembering. Lilac- horror coming up to her that he  _ hadn’t  _ kept his promise of no more death-accepted it. _ “Say you want me with you, here beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too- Lilac that’s all I ask of you.” _

Lilac leaned back.

“Run.” She whispered to him.

The Phantom understood.

He threw off the costume- revealing the Phantom to the audience. Raoul called for the guards, everyone screamed.

With a whirl of his cape, both of them vanished.

==DOM==

As they were running away, Lilac reached up for his mask.

The Phantom flinched away. 

Lilac huffed. “I’m trying to help!”

The Phantom growled. He continued pulling Lilac along.

She growled in annoyance. She grabbed the hair, tugging it off. The Phantom roared in rage. 

“Shut up!” Lilac shouted. “We need to move- you’re too recognized as the Phantom!” 

They stopped running in a corridor. Lilac glared in his eyes, feeling her claws itch under her skin.

“You  **swore** you were mine.” Lilac reminded him. “I protect what is  **mine** .”

The Phantom snarled. He dragged Lilac along more forcefully. She was certain if she didn’t have thick skin, he’d have made her bleed.

As they ran, Lilac took time to look at him with the masks and costumes. His hair was thin, messed up from the wig. His face was deformed by human standards, yes, as Lilac had seen the first time she took away the mask. Lilac had no disgust for him.

Soon they were at a secret passage for the underground. Lilac let herself be dragged away from the mob.

_ “Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair! Down we plunge to the prison of my mind! Down that path into darkness, deep as hell!”  _ The Phantom raged. He grabbed tighter to Lilac’s wrist. He stopped to glare at her.  _ “Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place? Not for any mortal sin but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!” _

Lilac opened her mouth to assure him- to admit she wasn’t disgusted by his face. Admit she was as deformed in her true skin as the humans accused him.

_ Humans weren’t cruel. _

_ They were just less kind. _

_ Which, in it’s own way, was the worst form of cruelty. _

“Track down this murderer!” A mob shouted from above. Lilac and the Phantom looked up at the ceiling. “He must be found! Track down this murderer! He must be found!”

Lilac glared at him. “You  **did** kill Piangi.”

The Phantom snarled at her. Or just glare, it was hard to say. He started them off walking.

_ “Hounded out by everyone! Met with hatred everywhere! No kind words from anyone! No compassion anywhere!” _ The Phantom continued to rage. “Lilac, Lilac...why? Why?”

They had reached the boat by this point. The Phantom threw Lilac down into the boat. She quickly righted herself. She glared up at him.

_ “Have you gorged yourself, at last, in your lust for blood?”  _ Lilac shouted at him. He refused to answer.  _ “Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?” _

The Phantom spoke coldly, his voice hypnotic but Lilac refused to let herself be swayed. They sailed across the lake faster than a blink. The Phantom was apparently faster in his road rage.  _ “That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face- the infection which poisons our love!” _

When they landed at shore, the Phantom pushed Lilac out of the boat. She found her footing before hitting the ground. He stormed up to the bridal dummy that Lilac had seen her first visit here. He took the bridal veil before coming up to her.

_ “This face, which earned a mother’s fear and loathing! A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing!” _ The Phantom pushed the veil onto her head. Lilac growled behind it. _ “Pity comes too late-turn around and face your fate: an eternity of this before your eyes!” _

As he moved his hand to the ring she was wearing, Lilac pulled away from him.

She lifted the veil away from her eyes.  _ “This haunted face holds no horror for me, nor in eternity. It’s in your soul that the true distortion lies.”  _

The Phantom flinched away.

Lilac looked to the gate. When she couldn’t find Raoul she let out a relieved breath. She turned to the Phantom.

“Why did you kill him?” Lilac demanded. “There was no need for blood to spill!”

“He was in my way!” The Phantom argued.

“So is  _ everyone _ !” Lilac countered.

The Phantom exhaled- growling. “Your request is one of a naive child!”

“You  **swore!** ” Lilac argued.

“I did not-”

“You swore you were **mine** ! If you continue to kill, then there will be no force that stops them from hunting you except  **death!** ” Lilac snarled. She marched up to the Phantom, eyes fierce and sharp. They cut the Phantom to his core, in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. “If you meant it when you called yourself mine, you wouldn’t have offered yourself over so freely to death!”

She turned away from him.

The Phantom grabbed her back. Lilac hissed at him. She kept her sudden serpentine tongue out of his sight.

“Let go of me!” Lilac commanded. “If you refuse to be mine, I refuse to be yours!”

“Then what you have had me do?” The Phantom demanded. He marched up to her face, until he was close enough that Lilac could feel his breath on her face, could see every last twist in the flesh of his face, could see the flecks of color in the iris of his eye. “If I let him live he would have alerted the guard to my presence!”

“Hit him over the head with a frying pan!” Lilac shot back. “Or punch him hard in the face! Hold a rag soaked in chloroform to his face! Literally  _ anything else _ besides killing him!”

Lilac had argued about that list with her mother and her aunt (mostly her aunt, who needed the reminder murder wasn’t the only option).

The Phantom laughed, mocking her as the echo came back with a sharpness that hit her like a bullet. “You speak, my Lilac, as if you have any say! You have decided!”

“Then I change my mind!” Lilac snapped.

The Phantom twirled Lilac around, so that her back was to his front. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look to the piano. “There is no place for you now. The Opera will not have you- not after they have seen us together, you know this. They only want you for your connection to  _ me _ .” He moved her face slightly, so Lilac could see the paper on the piano. “Your family won’t accept you either.”

Lilac tensed. “What did you  **do.”**

“Your letter.” The Phantom revealed. “You left it that night, by the tree. I went back for it- for  _ you _ . To be completely honest, My Lilac, I could not help but read.”

“If you **ripped it I swear-”**

He chuckled, from somewhere so deep in his chest that it rumbled against Lilac’s back. “It was clearly too precious.” He whirled Lilac around. “Tell me- if your family loves you so, why have they not come for you? Why have they abandoned their precious child to the streets of Paris?”

“Don’t talk about them like that-” Lilac warned. She could feel her nails stretching out.

“Was it because of their new child? One of their own blood?” The Phantom taunted. “Come now, Lilac, start a new life-”

Lilac dug her claws into the Phantom’s hand. “ **I SAID STOP!”** She snarled in a voice so loud the catacombs shook with the force of it.

The Phantom fell to the floor in pain, holding onto his now bleeding hand.

Lilac turned to glare at him. The reflection of the flames burned in her eyes, or so the Phantom told himself. Not only that but her eyes were like that of a serpent’s. Her tongue snuck out between her teeth, pointed.

**“DON’T YOU TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY!”** Lilac raved at him.  **“YOU- YOU** **_BASTARD!”_ **

Lilac screamed out in rage.

Only her words came out as flames that consumed everything.

==DOM==

That night, Meg Giry snuck down to the catacombs. All she found was a half charred clapping monkey, and the Phantom’s mask.

==DOM==

Lilac gasped at she fell on carpet. Red carpet. There was a wall behind her. 

She could hear music, from beyond a thin black curtain.

_ “-all the Phantom asked of YOU!” _

She pulled the curtain back, enough to see through. 

It was a  _ play _ .

The play she had come to see, with her-

Lilac looked at the seats in the balcony. Three people were there, in the darkness. Once the song on stage ended everyone applauded, rising to their feet. 

She gasped when the lights came on to show their faces. 

Mom.

Dad.

Auntie.

Lilac fell to her knees. She was  _ home _ .

She cried in relief.

“M-mom?!” Lilac gasped out.

Morgan gasped. She turned around, seeing her daughter on her knees. Her eyes watered. “Oh thank Author.” She got out of her seat, pulling the stunned Lilac up for a hug.

They started openly sob. They were so caught up in each other they didn’t notice the people from the other box seat peering out to see what was going on.

Darcy hopped in to their defense. 

“They really loved that scene.” Darcy defended. “ _ All I Ask of You _ . Man, it’s their jam.”

The other attendees glanced at the sobbing mother and daughter. They decided they didn’t care, as long as they stopped before the second act.

Thorax joined their hug. He kissed Lilac’s head, holding both women in his arms. “We’re so happy you’re okay.” Lilac let out a harder cry when she had his arm around her.

_ Lilac was home. _

_ And she couldn’t tell if her heart was breaking or not. _

==DOM==

It was cold.

Colder than it had been before.

He pressed himself against a building- coughing against the putrid smell in the air.

He winced at the louds noises coming from the light side of the tunnel.

Lights...lights brighter and with more color than any candle.

Erik was confused. As was reasonable, this was a confusing time.

A crowd of people walked past the end of the tunnel where he hid. Erik pushed himself against the wall, using the shadows to hide. As people moved beyond him, Erik stayed hidden.

He reached a hand to his face. Sure enough the mask had been left behind. His Lilac had taken it off him during the chase down the catacombs.

He realized it a panic- that this was his first time outside without his mask.

That panic held him for a long time. Erik shook against the wall. It was all that supported him as he was ravaged by ghosts of the past. 

It was twenty minutes of near breathing, shivering so hard he ripped through his clothes against the wall, that Erik could see straight again.

“-come on, come on! Sing it!”

“You left for three years. Sing the song!”

“Darcy, she’s not a singing monkey.”

“She’s a singing dragon. Come on kid just the important part!”

There was a heavy inhale.

_ “You alone can make my song take flight.” _ That perfectly angelic voice sang.

Erik followed it, enthralled as he had ever been since her first note all those years ago.

There she was.

Lilac.

She was still beautiful.

Her hair was different. The color was dark blue, cut to one side of her head. Erik only noticed it after seeing the look of serenity on her face.

She was holding up a woman by the arm, the woman being extremely pregnant and smiling like Lilac had hung the moon.

_ “It’s over now, the music of the night.” _ Lilac finished. She turned to the woman, expectant. “Well?”

The woman applauded.

“We missed _ that _ ?” A voice asked, much rougher. A second woman came up to Lilac’s free side. She resembled the first, only she wasn’t pregnant and her clothes were more...risque. “Dang kid. At least one of us can finally sing.”

“Watch it.” The first warned. “Or I’ll kill you with fire.”

“Umm, your daughter is literally a dragon. You’re being rude.”

“Mom I’m not killing Auntie with fire.”

“She’d probably enjoy it!” The first woman defended.

A man came up. Erik growled as the man stretched his arm out to Lilac. His growl faded when the man guided the pregnant woman from Lilac’s side. “Please stop trying to turn our daughter into a pyromaniac.”

“Quit trying to turn her into a fluffy unicorn!”

“Said the fluffy unicorn.” Lilac teased, blushing immediately after doing so. To the delight of the second woman who shrieked with laughter.

“Watch it!” The mother warned. “I can still disown you!”

The truth came to Erik suddenly. Except...except it was too  _ bizarre. _ Too bizarre to be true. Too bizarre to have value.

This was Lilac’s  _ family _ .

Whatever magic had been done by her fire, the magic that kept him alive and brought him to this strange too bright too loud space, it had brought her too.

Erik grinned.


End file.
